UK's Charity Guidelines Published; Religious Groups Lose Public Benefit Presumption

In Britain today, the Charity Commission-- the regulatory body governing charities in England and Wales-- issued lengthy guidelines interpreting the requirement in the Charities Act of 2006 that all charities must establish that they are created for "public benefit". (Press release.) The full text of the Guidance, Charities and Public Benefit, along with three other documents explaining an analyzing the Guidance are available at the Commission's website. The new policies go into effect April 1, 2008. Previously there was a presumption that charities devoted to advancing education or religion or relieving poverty met the public benefit requirement. As required by the Charities Act, under the new Guidelines this presumption is removed and every organization wishing to be recognized as a charity must demonstrate explicitly that its aims are for the public benefit. Of particular interest to religious groups is this exceprt from the Guidelines (Part D.6.) :

Our approach to decisions about what is charitable, and what is or is not for the public benefit, will be influenced by what is relevant and appropriate for current social and economic conditions....

This does not mean that we would regard anything that is seen as ‘old’ or ‘old-fashioned’ as necessarily ‘bad’ or ‘wrong’, nor does it just mean recognising as charitable things that are popular today. For example, it is not within the Charity Commission’s remit to look into traditional, long-held religious beliefs or to seek to modernise them.

(See prior related posting.)